Combination seal press



July 23, 1929. H. H. WENTHE 1,722,119

COMBINATION SEAL PRESS Filed Oct. 1, "1928 nun- 2 g mnumuz Patented July 23, 1929.

HERMAN H. WENTHE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CQPARTNERSHIP CONSISTING OF GUSTAV A. J. MEYER AND HERMAN H. WEN'IHE.

COMBINATION SEAL I RESS.

Application filed October 1, 1928. Serial No. 309,587.

My invention relates to portable seal presses adapted to be used by notaries and other officers for embossing seals or impressing legends on documents.

Seal presses for such purposes are now commonly used in two types, one being a desk type having a base adapted to seat on a table top when in use, while the other is a hand or pocket type designed to be held free of any support when it is being used. The hand type has the advantages that it can be constructed without a large and consequently heavy base, thus permitting it to be built in a much more compact form and sufficiently light to be carried in a mans coat pocket. On the other hand, the desk type permits the user to have both hands free for shifting the documentor papers to the desired position with respect to the die and counter of the press,'and also enables the supporting table or desk to resist the thrust. so that the press can be used more easily and with less fatigue.

In its general objects, my present invention aims to provide a seal press embodying the advantages of both types and adapted to be used with equal facility after the manner of each ofthese typesnamely, either with the entire seal press held in a single hand of the user and supported entirely by that hand, or with the seal press seated on any horizontal support so that this support will resist the thrust when the press is being operated.

Furthermore, my invention aims to provide a simple, light, compact and inexpensive attachment which can readily be affixed to a seal press of the manually held or socalled pocket type for eifectively converting this press into a'desk type seal press, this attachmentbeing arranged so'that it can also be swung to another position for permitting the press to be used when held clear of any sup port other than the hand of the user. Furthermore, my invention provides an attachment for this purpose which will afford a base portion of considerable spread, and which will be so disposed with respect to the seal press as to be both rigid and effective for resisting the pressure exerted by the user when manipulating the press.

7 Still turtherand also more detailed objects will appear from the following speci- Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same seal presswith theattachment swung to a position n which it affords portions of a base for rigidly supporting the press on a table or the like.

hand side of'Fig. 3.

Fig. v5 is a bottom view of the combination seal press, with the attachment in its base forming position of Fig. 4.

. Fig. 6 is an enlarged and fragmentary transverse'section, taken along the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

'Fig. 4 is a rear View, taken from the right ASSIGNOR TO MEYER & WEN'IHE, OF

. Fig.7 is a fragmentary. bottom view showing another shape of the attaching member which makes my seal press convertible.

In the drawings, I am showing my invention as embodied ina seal press of the socalled pocket type having a forked body 1 integralwith a lower die plate 2,.this lower die plate being disposed inthe mouth of the fork on the lower arm 1A of the fork, while the upper die plate 3 is carried by a plunger i. This plunger is normally raised by aspring (not shown in the drawings) butcan be depressed by a lever 5 pivoted to. the body on a pivot pin 6, which lever includes a handle 7 extending rearwardly above and beyond the bight of the forked body. The lower arm 1A of the body forms a vertical rib under the lower die plate, and the body has an eye or finger ring 8 behind its bight and in edgewise alinement with this rib 1A, the lower edgelof this ring being somewhat above the plane 9 of the desirably straight lower edge of the said rib 1A.

The attachment which permits the above described hand seal press to be used also as a desk press consists primarily of a fork which has the free ends of its arms 10 'dis posed at opposite sides of the press body 1, these free arm ends being pivoted to the press body (and preferably to the said lower fork arm or rib 1A) by a pivot pin 11 which extends horizontal y through the lJOC y transversely of the latter and rearwardly of the lower die plate 2, but forwardly of the linger ring 8. This forked attachment is of such a length that when swung to its forward or:

ment preferably is laterally widened to a considerable extent beyond the spread which the arms 10 have at their free ends, and this bight is desirably flared in one of its normally vertical directions so that it will afford a wide base when the attachment is in its operative position of 3 and. i. The widened bight 12 of the attachment desirably of less height than the rib 1A. or: thebody, sothat the lower edge of this rib will be exposed somewhat below my attachment when thelatter is in its inoperative position of Fi 1, and the attachment is so shaped that the lower edge of the big-ht oi the attachment will be in the same plane 9 with the lower edge of the body rib 1A whenthe attachment is in theopcrative po- I sition of Figs. 8 and 4 in which the finger seats on the upper edge of the bight ring 8 Moreover, the bight 12 of the attachment preferably flares in one direction,

namely downwardly when the attachment in its said operative position, so as to afford a large diametered base in this position without having sthe bight project unduly below the lower die plate when the tachment is in its inoperative position of Fig. 1. I

dVhen the pivoted attachment on the seal press thus equipped) is in its inoperative position of Fig. l, the attachment is effectively out of the way, so that the press can be held in one hand of the user and operated freely by manual pressure exerted between the lever and the bottom of the forked press body. J

lVith the attachment swung to the position ofFigs. 3 and l, the bight 12 will co-operate with the bottom rib 1A of the seal press body in affording a base for firmly supporting the press on any horizontal surface, since this base has a long effective length (reaching from the forward end of the bot tom rib 1A to the lower rear edge of the bight 12 ofthe attachment) and sincethis bight has a considerable lateral spread. Consequently, an ordinary pocket seal when thus equipped is as stable as arogular desk press when operated after the manner of the latter by downward pressure on the lever. Moreover, when the lever 7 continuously l overhangs a portion of the finger ring 55 even with the lever in its raised position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3) the lever swings somewhat rearwardly during its depression, so that downward over bight. 7

To prevent my attachment from the widened attachment swinging by gravity out of the position to which it has been swung, I desirably employ friction means Lssociated with the pivot pin 11 to latch the attachment in the ad usted aositlon and I also desirabl construct the pivotal connection so that the pivot pin will re body, I also desirably form the bight .4!

the thrust comes directlyof the rib 1A and one of the two or the attachment of a height greater than, this ice between the bo tom linger ring 8 an plane 9 when the attachment is perati e as in Figs. ,3 and 6), and form the In practice, this attachment desirably has 1 of the attachment with a recess the flaring portion of its bight extending through an arc of fully threefquarters of a circle, and has the largest diameter of this flaring portion not larger than thdia-meter of the lower die plate 2, thereby'allording the desired widespread of the base when. the V attachment is in its operative position but without having the arcuat flaring portion of the attachment project beyond the lower die plate when the attachment is in its inoperative position.

Since the forked member of my attachment can read'ly be formed of sheet metal, the entire cost of applying the same to a seal press is quite low, sov that my invention provides a convertible seal press at a cost only slightly above that of a regular hand type press. Moreover, my attachment adds so little to the weight as not to affect its desirability in a seal press intended to be carried in a pocket. J

However, while I have heretofore de scribed my invention in an embodiment including a flaring arcuate bight on the member which makes the press convertible, a recess in this bight, and friction washers associated with the pivoting of this member, I do not wish to be limited'to these 01 other details of the construction and arrangement thus disclosed. Changes may be obviously be made without departing either from the spirit of my invention or from the appended claims. For example, the widened bightof my attachment might be shorter (longitudinally of the press) and without any flare, as shown in Fig. 7. So also, I do not wish to be limited to the application of my invention to seal presses having a ring formation in the manually engageable portion toward which the lever moves during the making of a seal impression, as I am using the term ring here in the broad sense of denoting this manually engageable portion regardless of its shape.

I claim as my invention:

1. A supporting attachment for a hand seal press of the type having a finger ring at its lower rear end and having a lower die plate adjacent to its lower forward end, comprising a forked member having its arms pivoted near their free ends to the press below and behind the said die plate; the forked member being of such a length that its bight will underhang the said die plate when the said member is swung forwardly,

and will underhang the finger ring when the said member is swung rearwardly.

2. A seal press supporting attachment as per claim 1, in which the bight of the forked member flares downwardly when the said member is in its rearwardly swung portion.

3. A seal press supporting attachment as per claim 1, in which the bight of the forked member has an edge recess entered by the finger ring when the said member is swung rearwardly.

4. A hand seal press of a lever type, having a longitudinal bottom body rib and hav: ing a finger ring underhanging the lever of the press behind the said rib, in combination 7 with aforked member having its arms straddling and pivoted to the said rib; the said member being movable from a forward po sition in which its bight extends around the forward of the said rib, to a rearward position in which the said bight underhangs the finger ring to serve as a support for the finger ring portion of the seal press.

5. A hand seal press combination as per claim l, in which the forked member has a laterally'widened portion adjacent to its bight, and in which the lower edge of the said widened portion is substantially in a common plane with the bottom of the said l rib when the forked member is disposed in lts said rearward position.

6. In a seal press, a frame including in the latteron a horizontal axis; the position ofthe said axis and the length of the forked member being such that the bightof the said member will underhang the die plate forwardly of the rib when the said member is swun to a' forward inoperative position, and that the said bight will underhang and engage the bottom of the said handle when the said member is swung to a rearward operative position.

7. A seal press as per claim 6, in which the forked member has an arcuate bight portion extending through an arc of over 180 degrees and flaring in a direction which is downward'when the forked member is in its rearward position, the diameter of the larger end of the flaring bight portion being.

not greater than that of the said die plate.

8. A seal press as per claim 6, in which the height of the said flaring bight portion is less than the height of the said rib below the lower die plate, so that the. said rib will project below the said bight portion when the forked member is swung forwardly into engagement with the bottom of the said die plate.

9. A seal press as per claim 6, in combination with frictionally operative means for retaining the forked member in its inoperative position. V 10. A seal press as per claim 6, in combination with frictionally operative means for retaining the forked member in either its operative or its inoperative position, the said means comprising two friction washers associated with the pivoting of the forked member to the rib, each washer being disposed between one lateral face of the rib and one arm of the forked member.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, September HERMAN H. WENTHE. 

